I recently received a 64bit server preinstalled with Microsoft Small Business Server Standard 2003. Topology is a router/switch running DHCP and providing firewall and gateway services, with the server as a node on that network running DNS and AD. This is a standard setup per the MS 2003 Install book. There are 6 client PCs all running XP Pro. I completed the setup, creating a domain and so on, and during the final reboot after setup the power went out. I was able to restart it but it was behaving strangely as I was adding users and computers and finishing the rest of the to-do list and then I went home and returned the next day and researched the Event Viewer and behold, several services were erroring out after that restart when the power failed. IIS and Exchange were the key ones. I re-ran setup from the CDs, reinstalling all server components, and still, I get the error "#50070: Unable to connect to the database STS_Config on <server>\sharepoint. Check the Database connection information and make sure that the database server is running." every 5 seconds. I have googled this error and performed the service dependency "fix" referred to in all the posts I found, to no avail. I looked in services and saw that the MSSQL$SHAREPOINT service would not start, it was showing "started" but was in stopped state, and if I started it, it would run for a second and then quit. I thought I would be smart and repair SharePoint Services 2.0, using the CD, which said it completed successfully but did nothing to help this error. Then I tried to run a repair on Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (SHAREPOINT) in Add/Remove Programs, and it gave a fatal error. So I uninstalled it and tried to reinstall it from the CD, but that resulted in an installation of Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine listed with no (SHAREPOINT) next to it, and the service MSSQL$SHAREPOINT is now missing from services. As such, no shared collaborations in Exchange are working, and this pervasive (above) error recurs every 5 seconds in the Application section of Event Viewer. It has been suggested that I reinstall Windows SBS 2003 and start from scratch. I have active directory all set up, users and computers all joined and shares assigned, printers and routers all set up, and would prefer to fix this without rebuilding the entire network if possible, so if anyone can provide a path to resolution please let me know. The XP Pro users are all able to log into the domain, although their login seems to take a long time at "applying your user settings" (like 30-90 seconds at that point) and their shared drives are accessible (most of the time). I am a Lone Ranger system admin (not by choice at the moment) and appreciate any help.
Thanks!
undivine
